The Gift
by wildsky
Summary: Transitional oneshot set between Damage and the upcoming Whisper. Alec has a gift for Max that will change her life forever. Please R & R!


**Disclaimer: I don't own 'em (unless they're originals). Please don't sue me. It's _so_ not worth it.**

**A/N: **This story is a one-shot and takes place one month after the events of Damage.

**THE GIFT**

**Sector Nine, Safehouse Five**

"So are you going to give it to her?"

Alec tore his gaze away from the hypodermic syringe sitting in the palm of his hand to look up at Jess, whose back was leaning against the closed door.

"Yeah," Alec replied with a marked lack of enthusiasm. "Yeah, I'm going to give it to her."

No hint of her thoughts showed on her face. She simply watched him, studying him.

"It'll be okay, you know."

Alec drew in a slow, deep breath and shook his head grimly. "You know, I told Max once that I wasn't the kind of jerk who'd steal another guy's girl. What a joke."

"Max isn't the family dog, Alec. You can't steal a girl who doesn't want to be stolen," Jess pointed out with a hint of exasperation.

"Should I be worried that you can justify this so easily?" Alec asked.

"Justify what? I was under the impression that it's a good thing she won't kill him by touching him."

"You didn't suggest this out of the goodness of your heart, Jessie," Alec reminded her but she just shrugged.

"Details," she said with a dismissive sniff. "Come on, we're giving them their dream shot here. You know, ride off into the sunset together or whatever it is couples do."

"Great imagery. Thanks," Alec drawled.

"Look, just go over there and do it. Like ripping off a band-aid," she urged.

"Max the band-aid, huh?" Alec's lips twitched with amusement and Jess flashed him a mischievous smile. Alec glanced back down at the precious syringe he held. "Thanks for making the run, Jessie."

"Well, you couldn't exactly high-tail it outta Seattle for a week without being missed, so it's my pleasure," Jess replied. "I needed a holiday anyway."

"And you're sure that tech got it right?"

"I wouldn't be here if he hadn't."

The theoretical side of things had been time-consuming yet it had been the practical synthesis of the cure which had posed a real problem. They didn't have the facilities to create it themselves and scientists with the right expertise were hard to find, with good reason. Finding a guy with the qualifications and the set-up to pull it off had been a stroke of luck but also expensive. The fact that he was in Los Angeles had just made it more inconvenient.

"All right, let's get this done," Alec said, picking up his jacket and striding towards the door. Without a word, Jess fished the keys to his motorcycle out of her pocket and handed them over.

"Good luck," she told him sincerely, meeting his eyes as she moved away from the door. "Drinks are on me tonight, okay?"

"Thanks," Alec replied ruefully. "I'll see you later."

**Sector Three, Sandeman's House**

Max wasn't hard to find these days.

Alec had heard that she'd gone back to doing legwork for Eyes Only, whose crusade for transgenic rights was finally beginning to yield results. Of course, having the transgenic stronghold levelled in an unprovoked attack had helped in that regard. The children of Manticore had suddenly found themselves being portrayed as victims rather than aggressors and sympathy for their cause had skyrocketed. The entire city was divided on the issue with people like Normal and Sketchy leading the pro-transgenic charge.

In the wake of Terminal City's destruction, Max had made her home in Sector Three for two reasons – Logan and Joshua, who lived within minutes of each other. She alternated between sleeping in the safehouse and crashing in Logan's 'guest bedroom'. He'd tried the safehouse first with no success.

So Alec stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the dilapidated house, the antidote burning a hole in his pocket. He honestly wasn't sure what kind of a reception he'd get. He and Max hadn't seen much of each other since White's last attempt on their lives. He'd called a couple of times to see how she was doing but he had the distinct impression that she was avoiding him.

He didn't really blame her. The ground had shifted underneath their feet and even now their balance still seemed precarious. The entire situation was… awkward.

Bracing himself, Alec strode up the path and knocked firmly on the door. Inside, he heard the shuffling of feet and knew Logan was coming to answer the summons. He wondered idly if ordinaries were simply incapable of moving quietly. Even Joshua, despite his size, could be silent if he wished to be.

The door swung wide and Logan blinked in surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

Face-to-face with his rival, Alec let his customary smirk emerge.

"Hey, Logan. Mind if I come in?"

The flash of irritation in Logan's blue eyes made it clear that he _did_ mind but he stepped aside nonetheless to let Alec pass. The X5 stepped over the threshold as if he didn't have a care in the world and made his way into the living room. Max, curled up on the sofa, looked up from the television report she'd been watching. Her brown eyes wandered over him quickly, as if she were assuring herself that he was still in one piece.

"Hey, Alec," she said with a tight smile.

"Hey, Maxie," he replied as nonchalantly as he could before looking back at Logan. "You guys got a second?"

Logan's brow furrowed slightly but his curiosity got the better of him. "Sure. What's up?"

"You might want to sit down, man," Alec cautioned him.

"What is it?" Max asked in concern. "What happened?"

"No, no," Alec denied quickly. "Everything's fine. Nothing's wrong, I promise." He suddenly wanted to just get it over with and he pulled the syringe out of his pocket, holding it out for Max to take. "Actually, things are looking up for you two."

Max was staring at the gift, her dark eyes wide.

"Alec… what is that?"

"It's for you," he said simply, quietly. "It's a cure."

"A cure?" she echoed in disbelief, her gaze snapping up to search his face for any hint that he was playing, that it was just a cruel joke and there was a punch-line in the works.

Alec nodded without any trace of his standard cavalier attitude. "_The_ cure. For the virus. A permanent one."

Behind him, Logan let out a strangled sound. "Alec, are you serious?" They'd been disappointed so many times before.

Alec had been so focused on Max's reaction that he'd almost forgotten that the cyber journalist was standing there. He cleared his throat slightly and nodded again.

"Yeah, it's the real deal," Alec declared. "You can test it first if you want."

Logan reached out and all but snatched the precious serum from Alec's grasp, looking at Max with hope radiating from every pore of him. Alec had never wanted the ground to open up and swallow him before but the feeling almost overwhelmed him. She glanced back up at Alec, utterly speechless.

"I, uh… I didn't want to say anything in case it didn't pan out," Alec said softly. Max's mouth opened as if she wanted to say something but no sound came out.

"Max, say something," Logan urged breathlessly, grinning from ear-to-ear as he held out Alec's miracle for her inspection.

Max didn't know whether she wanted to laugh, cry or scream.

On her left stood the man she'd spent two years fighting to keep, a man she'd been terrified to touch but had clung to all the same. Yet on her right was Alec, the man who kept her real. Her equal. The man she'd walked away from even though it hurt both of them.

For a month she'd been trying not to think about him, to convince herself that what she felt for Alec wasn't anything compared to what she felt for Logan. Now he was handing her the key to getting everything she'd ever wanted with Logan.

Max suddenly felt sick.

"How did you get this?" she finally choked out.

"Well, I 'borrowed' your papers," he confessed sheepishly. "Anyway, the tech said you should wait an hour once you've taken the dose but after that…" He trailed off, shrugging slightly.

"So we can touch and nothing will happen?" Max asked anxiously. The whole situation seemed unreal.

"Well, I don't know about nothing," Logan grinned, reminding her of a similar conversation they'd once held in his penthouse. A muscle in Alec's cheek twitched as he raked a hand through his hair, looking anywhere but at Max, who felt her cheeks redden at Logan's comment.

"Well, on that note, I should probably go," Alec said, rubbing his hands together as he summoned up a devil-may-care smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Alec –"

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Max wanted to sink into the floor as that remark brought to mind everything that she knew he would do – everything he _had_ done during a certain heat-induced forty-eight-hour tryst that she just couldn't stop thinking about. Alec grimaced as his mind followed an identical path. He shot her an apologetic look and turned on his heel, clapping Logan on the shoulder on his way out. Max watched him go, her heartbeat echoing in her ears like thunder.

"Max, give me your arm," Logan urged but Max found herself shaking her head.

"I need a minute –" she began to protest, edging towards the door but Logan reached out and grabbed her arm, shielded by her sleeve.

"Max –"

"Logan, just _wait_!" Max snapped, pulling away so fast that he stumbled as she raced out of the front door.

"Max!" Logan shouted after her.

"Alec!" Max called out, seeing him turning the key in the Bandit's ignition. He looked up to find her advancing on him. "You created the cure?"

"Why does it matter who made it, Max?" Alec asked, keenly aware that they were in full view of the public, not to mention Logan, who was watching the entire scene from the porch with his arms folded across his chest.

"Of course it matters," Max told him, searching for the truth in his guarded hazel eyes.

"It works. That's all you need to know."

"No, Alec. Why did you do this?" Max asked, her voice shaking with emotion. Alec met her gaze and what she saw in his eyes broke her heart.

"Just let it go, Max," he told her, then gunned the engine and sped away as if every Familiar in Seattle was on his tail, the tyres leaving black marks on the bitumen. Numb, Max watched his retreating figure until he was out of sight. Logan moved towards her, the syringe still in his hand, and she drew in a slow, deep breath to steady herself.

"Max, are you all right?" he asked, his calm voice completely at odds with Max's inner turmoil.

"I'm fine," she replied automatically. "I just wanted to make sure…"

"I don't think Alec would joke about something like this, Max," Logan told her, completely misunderstanding the scene he'd just witnessed. Clearly, Alec's gesture had improved his standing in Logan's eyes. The irony of it was almost enough to make Max throw up.

"No," she agreed in a whisper. "I don't think he would."

**Sector Nine, Safehouse Five, One Hour Later**

"Are you all right?" Jess asked gently as she poured Alec a generous glass of the scotch she'd swiped in Los Angeles. He didn't bother sipping it – he tossed it back in one gulp.

"Never better," he declared, slamming the tumbler down onto the counter with enough force to make hairline cracks appear on the surface. Jess quirked a sceptical eyebrow at him.

"Liar," she replied simply as she gave him a refill, silently grateful that X5 metabolism made it damn near impossible to get anywhere in the vicinity of drunk.

"I'm fine," he insisted stubbornly.

"Give her time," Jess advised, flicking her long hair back over her shoulders.

"I'm really not in the mood, Jessie." He stared down at the amber liquid in the glass as if it might offer up a solution to his dilemma. "Band-aid, my ass."

"So much for fine," she replied, sipping at her scotch as he glowered at her. Hazel eyes met aquamarine but Jess held her ground. She had no intention of leaving him on his own to brood. "Come on, you're sleeping on my couch tonight. I think we could both use the company."

**Sector Three, Sandeman's House**

Max stared down at the plate of pasta sitting on the table in front of her, her stomach strangely averse to the scent of carbonara. Every so often she forced herself to swallow a mouthful but she couldn't taste a thing. She knew Logan was watching her, shooting glances at her from across the way and part of her just wanted to hide in the nearest closet.

The last time they'd had a chance to be together, Max had been the one to hold back and try for a bit of romance while Logan had been the one to suggest a 'perfect quickie'. Now their roles seemed to have been reversed and Max found herself wishing he'd just forget about taking it slow, that he'd just kiss her and get it over with.

Everything was going to be all right now that the virus was out of the picture. She and Logan could finally be together, build the life they'd wanted for so long… Max frowned slightly as it occurred to her that they'd never really talked about what kind of life they wanted. They'd been so focused on just holding it together, on finding a way to be together, that it had honestly never come up. Not once.

"Max, are you all right?" Logan asked gently when he noticed her grim expression.

Startled out of her reverie, Max smiled a little too brightly at the man sitting across from her. "I'm fine. It's just… I just can't believe we're here like this."

Logan's blue eyes warmed as they rested on her face and Max suddenly wondered what the hell was wrong with the two of them. For over a year they'd been trapped in limbo, unable to touch without pre-booking a hospital room, and the man made her a fancy dinner instead of doing what any other red-blooded male would have done – which, incidentally, was the one thing she really wanted him to do.

On the heels of that thought, Max got out of her seat, rounded the table and kissed him. Logan didn't need any more encouragement. His arms slid around her waist as he got to his feet, his lips moving gently over hers, the meal completely forgotten as they began making their way towards the bedroom. Yet in the moment the door closed, Max couldn't suppress a small twinge of guilt as a pair of wicked green-gold eyes lurked in the back of her mind.

Then Logan was kissing her again and Max forgot about everything except the man in her arms.


End file.
